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Community Corner

This Doctor Walks His Talk

Dr. Ian Taras has walked miles and raised thousands of dollars for an issue close to his heart.

Dr. Ian Taras is a man with a mission and a compelling story. For the last 11 years, he has organized and led a team of walkers in completing the annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women held in downtown LA. He plans to walk again on Saturday.

A gynecologist by profession, Taras has tirelessly recruited participants and raised over $350,000 towards breast cancer education and eradication. For the Agoura Hills resident, the issue hits close to home.

No cake walk

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His grandmother died of ovarian cancer. His mother is a breast cancer survivor; and his father, a colo-rectal cancer survivor.

A blood test revealed that he and his sister, Lorelle, both carry the BRCA 1 gene that significantly increases cancer risk. Lorelle has undergone a prophylactic double mastectomy, which can reduce her chances of getting cancer.

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Taras, the father of two, recalls that unusually tough year for his family. “It was 2006 and that’s when my sister and I both found out we had the gene. My dad was also diagnosed that year,” he said.

From all walks of life

Taras recruits former and current patients from his Woodland Hills practice, who, in turn, recruit their families and friends. In 2000, there were about 20 team members. Eleven years later, Taras estimates that there will be over 300 team members on Saturday at the starting line.

Taras explained his new strategy in dealing with the participant increase, stemming from e-mail and word-of-mouth .“This is the first year I’m pushing that we break up into sub-groups,” said Taras

Though he's primarily a "walker," he finds the 5k course to be "a very doable distance, and we make it fun,” he said.

The past decade has produced some highly anticipated traditions. “Around the first mile, we stop and eat at the same taco stand every year,” he said. This Saturday will be no exception.

He also arranges for buses from Westlake Village and Sherman Oaks to shuttle team members to and from the LA Memorial Coliseum at Exposition Park. One year, the team even had double-decker buses.

Along with participation, Team Taras' fundraising numbers have grown tremendously, from the $9,000 raised in 2000, to the $55,000 they raised in 2010.

He says there is never any “fundraising pressure.” In fact, he prefers that people participate now and donate later, or not at all, if they so wish, he said.

Going the extra mile

As a symbolic gesture, Taras has grown a beard in anticipation of the event. “During hockey play-offs, you grow a beard, because you’re so focused on the task at hand. I do the same for this," he said.

The beard will come off after the 5k, but this time, there’s a twist. “Don’t tell my wife, but I’m going to spray paint my beard pink, and shave off half of it the day before,” he said.

If shaving off his beard was as easy as eradicating breast cancer, the indefatigable doctor would stop walking. But the journey is far from over, so he has no plans to stop or even slow down. “Definitely not, not unless a cure is found,” he said.

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